Camper body lift and support

ABSTRACT

A camper body of the type adapted to be carried in a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;pickup&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; truck is provided with a pair of pivoted legs on each side. The lower ends of the legs on either side are pivoted to a longitudinal ground support member such as a channel member in the provision of a shoe. These ground support members or shoes provide a degree of stability which is not afforded by conventional jacks and make it possible to separate the camper body from the pick-up truck by simply moving the truck in reverse. A diagonal cable arrests the movements of the legs to positions of clearance between the camper body and the truck. To reload the camper body on the truck the truck is simply moved under the camper body and the two are coupled, such as by means of a cable, whereupon the truck is moved forwardly thereby reversing the process. When the camper body is resting on its ground support members removable lateral braces are also provided between the camper body of each ground support member to provide increased stability. Further increased stability is provided by a lateral cable which connecs the two ground support members or shoes and these ground support members are provided with tread means for anti-slip purposes.

United States Patent [1 1 Ashley, Jr.

[ CAMPER BODY LIFT AND SUPPORT [75 Inventor: Paul J. Ashley, Jr., PicoRivera,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Bradshaw Incorporated,

Montebello, Calif.

[22] Filed: May 21, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 145,704

[52] U.S. Cl. 214/515, 254/49 [51] Int. Cl 860p 1/54 [58] Field ofSearch 214/515; 254/45, 254/49, 50

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,251,494 5/1966 Pulliarn214/515 X 2,983,394 5/1961 McKee 214/515 X 3,148,795 9/1964 Leach214/515 3,202,304 8/1965 Lannenm. 214/515 X 3,186,570 6/1965 Bunnell....214/515 1,048,722 12/1912 Morgan 254/45 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS1,129,530 l/l957 France 214/515 Primary ExaminerAlbert J. MakayAtt0rneyBirch and Birch 'i [4 1 July 3,1973

[5 7] ABSTRACT A camper body of the type adapted to be carried in apick-up truck is provided with a pair of pivoted legs on each side. Thelower ends of the legs on either side are pivoted to a longitudinalground support member such as a channel member in the provision of ashoe. These ground support members or shoes provide a degree ofstability which is not afforded by conventional jacks and make itpossible to separate the camper body from the pick-up truck by simplymoving the truck in reverse. A diagonal cable arrests the movements ofthe legs to positions of clearance between the camper body and thetruck. To reload the camper body on the truck the truck is simply movedunder the camper body and the two are coupled, such as by means of acable, whereupon the truck is moved forwardly thereby reversing theprocess. When the camper body is resting on its ground support membersremovable lateral braces are also provided between the camper body ofeach ground support member to provide increased stability. Furtherincreased stability is provided by a lateral cable which connecs the twoground support members or'shoes and these ground support members areprovided with tread means for anti-slip purposes.

' 1 3 ciimsf9 Drawing ri ui s V PATENTED JUL 3 I873 SHEEI'IUF 3 INVENTOR##04 .1. #51946); .772

BY M 4% ATTORNEYS PATENIEDJUL 3 I815 SHEET! 0! 3 IN VENTOR P404 J.fl-SHLEY, Je.

Y M -3M ATTORNEYS PAIENTEDJUL 31m sums m3 ATTORNE Y5 CAMPER BODY LIFTAND SUPPORT This invention relates to campers and it is moreparticularly concerned with a camper having a camper body which isadapted to conformably rest on a socalled pick-up truck.

Campers of this type have, in recent years, gained wide popularity. Onereason for such popularity is the fact that the camper body can beremoved from the pick-up truck and each used independently of the other.

When it is desired to separate the camper body from the pick-up truckjacks are conventionally provided for this purpose. Such jacks providefor elevation of the camper body off the pick-up truck whereupon thetruck is free of the camper body and can be used independently of it.

However, heretofore a camper body supported on such jacks is relativelyprecarious. The jacks are difficult to manage in order to maintain thecamper body level especially in relatively soft soil or sand of theconventional camp sites where the jacks are prone to sink in the groundto different levels. The camper is uninhabitable, unless it is loweredto the ground for stability. For example, a mph wind may blow it overwhen using conventional jacks.

It is the general object of this invention to provide novel means forelevating and lowering a camper body onto a pick-up truck, said meansincluding elongated shoe means for maintaining ground engaging surfacelevels on soft sandy surfaces as well as hard ground surfaces.

A specific object of the invention is the provision of such camper bodyelevating and lowering means which can be operated by movement of thetruck alone.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such means which issimple and convenient to operate and which does not require any specialskill.

A further object is the provision of such means which can function tosupport the camper body at a site independent of the pick-up truckthereby releasing the truck for other uses.

Yet another object is the provision of a novel shoe with a non-skidsurface for use on hard surfaces, such as concrete or the like.

Still another object is the provision of a novel camper lift having anovel storage arrangement for the lift when the camper is on the pick-uptruck for road travel.

These and still further objects, features and advantages of theinvention will appear more fully from the following descriptionconsidei'ed together with the accompanying drawing.

Prior devices of this general type are exemplified by the followingpatents: LEACH U.S. Pat. No. 3,148,795; GREEN U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,161;ROYAL U.S. Pat. No. 3,164,371.

The present invention differs from these prior patents in the fact thatit provides longitudinal ground bearing elongated shoe members on eitherside of the camper body. These shoe members are linked to the camperbody by pivoted legs to form with the camper body a parallelogramlinkage which constrains the longitudinal bearing members to positionsparallel to the camper body. In one position of the linkage the camperbody rests on the pick-up truck. In another position, the camper body iselevated from the pick-up truck and is arrested by means of a diagonalcable in the linkage.

The linkage is moved from one position to another by simple backward andforward motion of the pick-up truck; In the rearward movement the frontwall of the truck abuts the camper body and pushes it into the elevatedpostion. On the forward movement the truck and the camper body areconnected together by means of short cable means at the front and rearof the camper body.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the inventionmounted on a pick-up truck;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the truck and camper body shown inFIG. 1 separated for individual use;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of one form of lateral support brace,such as may be used when the camper is erected and separated from thetruck;

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of a camper with the camper liftpulled apart with the telescope legs retracted and pivoted flat in theshoe;

FIG. 5 is a section view taken on line A-A of FIG. 4 showing the shoe,hinge pin and bracket for the upper bearing of the telescope legs shownstored in the shoe;

FIG. 6 is a cross section view of the hinge pin to show the detail of awire clip adapted to hold the pin in position in the bracket;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of one of the channel or shoe membersillustrating two embodiments of antiskid features.

FIG. 8 is cross section view taken transversely of one of the shoes andshows the connection bolt for the lateral brace when the camper body isseparated for parking; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged elevation view of one of the camper telescope legsin extended ground support position.

Referring to the drawings and first with particular reference to theembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 it comprises a conventionalcamper body 1 I mounted on a conventional pick-up truck 12. Bottom walls13 and 14 of the camper body rest on and extend outwardly beyond theside panels 15 and 16 of the truck.

On either side of the camper body there are pivotally suspendedparallelogram linkages 17. Each linkage comprises legs 18 and 19 theupper ends of which are pivotally connected to the bottom walls 13 and14 at the front and back, respectively of the camper body. Each leg ispreferably formed in two sections a and b mounted to be extensible andretractable telescopically with respect to each other. These telescopicsections may be locked in any desired position by pins 18a and 19binsertable in suitably aligned openings through the respectivelyassociated sections a and b. The lower ends of the legs 18 and 19 arepivotally connected to a longitudinal channel member 20 in the provisionof a shoe. Each shoe member 20 is sufficiently long and wide toconstitute ground bearing support for each side of the camper body inplaces of conventional sites, e.g., sand, camping grounds, and so forth.As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7 each bottom surface of each shoe 20 may beroughened to provide an anti-slip tread 22 or it may have a rubber treadmeans 22a for this purpose. In any position the shoe members 20 extendforwardly and rearwardly substantial distances relative to the center ofgravity of the camper body, see FIG. 2.

The legs 18 and 19 are longer than the distance between the ground andthe bottom walls 13 and 14 so that in a nearly vertical position theyelevate and support the camper body 11 independently of the pick-uptruck 12. Also, the legs are formed of telescoping sections adapted tobe retracted for storage as in FIGS. 4 and 5.

A diagonal cable 23 is provided between the bottom of the forward leg 18and the top of the rear leg 19 of sufficient length to arrest thepivotal movement of the camper lift linkage, when the camper body iselevated to the position shown in FIG. 2.

The device is used by placing the parts in the: position shown inFIG. 1. The pick-up truck 12 is then driven rearwardly to the positionshown in FIG. 2. The rear cab wall 24 of the truck abuts the front wall25 of the camper body, thus pushing the camper body 11 rearwardly on thelegs and elevating it. This frees the camper body from the truck,whereupon the truck may then be driven forwardly independent of thecamper body, see FIG. 2.

To load the camper body on the truck, thetruck is simply movedrearwardly under the camper body to the position shown in FIG. 2 and itis coupled to the camper body at the front wall thereof with a couplingmember, such as a hook 28 by cable 26 connected with a coupling member,such as a hook 27 by coupling eyes or rings 28A, one on each'end of thecable. The truck is then driven forwardly which moves the camper bodyrelative to the camper lift legs to the rest'position, shown in FIG. 1.

For road travel, the linkages are elevated against the bottom walls 13and 14 and they are held in this elevated position by suitable means,such as hooks 29 on the side of the camper body which engage the cables23, or the camper lift may be stored at the respective .side walls ofthe camper as in FIGS. 4, Sand 6.

For increased lateral support, adjustable length tubular braces 30 aredisposed between corners of the camper body and the channels or shoes20. The braces 30 at each upper end have saddles 31 and 32 which arecarried by the upper ends of the adjustable braces 30 These saddles areformed to fit against the lower side edges defined by the bottom walls13 and 14 and the reduced lower section of the camper body 11. Eachsaddle 31 and 32 is in the shape of an angle bracket and is carried by apost 33 which telescopes in a lower tubular section 34. This sectionslips over a bolt or pin 34a. This bolt or pin is suitably angularlysecured to a side wall of the shoe channel 20, see FIG. 8. Post 33 mayinclude an externally threaded portion and has a threaded abutment nut37 threadable thereon for locking the extended length of the braces 30in position. Hence, by rotating the abutment nut 37 on the post 33 theeffective length of the brace sections may be changed to provide a snugfit of each saddle with the camper body.

Additional lateral support may be provided by a lateral cable 35connected at either end to tubular sections 34 of tubular braces 30, andmay be adjustable for tension by a turnbuckle 36.

The elongated ground engaging shoes 20 as described are formed fromchannel members and the interior of the same are pivoted to camper liftlegs. These legs are made in the telescopic sections a and b withbearings at each exposed end, and the legs may be collapsed for storingwithin the channel side of the shoes 20, see FIGS. 4, and 6, or whichmaybe extended to their respective predetermined full length when usedto provide a lift to the camper body as in FIGS. 2 and 8. The topsection of the respective legs are each pivoted from hinge pins on theunderportion of each of the overhang sides of the camper body, see FIGS.5 and 6, and when the legs are extended and moved to upright positionwith respect to the center of gravity of the camper body and to a groundsurface they provide lift to the camper body 11 to raise it from thepick-up truck body.

In one form of the lift arrangement, provision is made for storage ofthe camper lift, as shown in FIG. 4. This is of particular advantage forstoring the shoes and legs of the camper lift when the pick-up truck andthe camper body are together for road trips. With particular referenceto this storage feature, there is shown in section view on line A-A ofFIG. 4, bracket plates 40 at the sides of the camper body 11. Thebracket plates extend downwardly below the offset edge of the camperbody side and preferably are parts of a bracket 42 secured to the loweroffset underside of the camper body 11. This bracket 42 has legs 44 and45 and is formed as an inverted U-bracket with a hinge pin 43 mounted inaligned openings in the bracket legs 44 and 45 and are held in positionby a wire clip 46 extending through an aperture in the pin, see FIG. 6.

Thus there are provided novel improvements in a truck carried camperbody, whereby a camper lift and support combination is provided for thecamper body for first lifting the camper body from the truck to separatethe same from the supporting truck body on which it may rest formobility and secondly after such first lifting operation of the camperbody, the camper body lift members serve as fixed support members forthe camper body independently of the truck on any suitable groundsurface.

Without further description, it is believed that the foregoing amplydescribes the present novel arrangement and combination of parts whichmake up the structure of the present invention, and it is to beexpressly understood that various changes now likely to occur to others,may be made without departing from the scope of this invention.Reference should be had to the appended claims to determine the scope ofmy invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The improvement in a camper body adapted to removably fit in apick-up truck said improvement comprising parallelogram linkagesconnected to either side of the camper body and extending downwardly toground level when the camper is on the pick-up truck, said linkages oneither side of the camper body comprising a single elongatedlongitudinal ground engaging shoe member and front and rear legspivotally connected at their lower ends to the ground shoe member andpivotally connected at their upper ends to the camper body to provideunitary structure, said legs of each unitary structure to each side ofthe camper body being longer than the vertical distance between theirupper ends and ground level in the provision of a camper body lift withoff center action of the said legs forwardly or rearwardly of thelongitudinal axes of the truck and camper body, and a diagonal cablebetween the lower end of, the front leg and the upper end of the rearleg to arrest the said off center action of the legs of the linkage in agiven position of forward or rearward off center support for the camperbody independently of the truck said improvement further including alateral brace at each camper body corner, said brace comprising anelongated post, said post having an upper section mounted to each one ofsaid camper body corners, and a lower section mounted to one of thecorresponding ground engaging shoe members, said sections being formedto telescope together for manualadjustment, and means for locking saidsections in adjusted positions.

2. The improvement defined by claim 1, in which the ground shoe membersextend forwardly and rearwardly substantial distances from the center ofgravity of the camper body.

3. The improvement as defined by claim 1, and means along the bottom ofthe ground engaging shoe member for increasing friction with the ground.

4. The improvement as defined by claim 1, in which the ground supportmember is in the shape of a longitudinal channel.

5. The improvement as defined by claim 3 in which the bottom of thechannel has a plurality of dimples for increasing friction with theground.

6. The improvement as defined in claim 3, in which the bottom of thechannel is provided with an anti-slip surface.

7. The improvement as defined by claim 1, and means for releasiblyholding the linkage in an elevated position for highway travel.

8. The improvement as defined by claim 1, and means for effectingco-movement of the truck and camper body in forward and rearwarddirections.

9. The improvement as defined by claim 1, and means for releasiblycoupling the camper body to the pick-up truck for co-movement when thecamper body is in an elevated position relative to the truck.

10. The improvement defined by claim 1, in which the ground engagingshoe members are demountable and attachable in demounted condition forstorage along the sides of the camper body.

11. The improvement defined by claim 1, in which the legs aretelescopically adjustable.

12. The improvement as described in claim 1, wherein said elongated postis formed of tubular sections.

13. The improvement as described in claim 1, wherein said post has itsupper section and said lower section formed with threaded portionsnormally threadable together intermediate the length of the post.

14. The improvement as described in claim 1, wherein each upper postsection is secured by a body corner conforming saddle.

15. The improvement as described in claim 1, wherein said means forlocking said sections in adjusted positions comprises a threadedabutment nut mounted at the juncture between said upper and lowersections.

16. The improvement as described in claim 1, wherein lateral cable meansare connected between said lateral bracing means and having meansthereon for adjusting the tension of said cable means.

1. The improvement in a camper body adapted to removably fit in apick-up truck said improvement comprising parallelogram linkagesconnected to either side of the camper body and extending downwardly toground level when the camper is on the pick-up truck, said linkages oneither side of the camper body comprising a single elongatedlongitudinal ground engaging shoe member and front and rear legspivotally connected at their lower ends to the ground shoe member andpivotally connected at their upper ends to the camper body to provideunitary structure, said legs of each unitary structure to each side ofthe camper body being longer than the vertical distance between theirupper ends and ground level in the provision of a camper body lift withoff center action of the said legs forwardly or rearwardly of thelongitudinal axes of the truck and camper body, and a diagonal cablebetween the lower end of the front leg and the upper end of the rear legto arrest the said off center action of the legs of the linkage in agiven position of forward or rearward off center support for the camperbody independently of the truck said improvement further including alateral brace at each camper body corner, said brace comprising anelongated post, said post having an upper section mounted to each one ofsaid camper body corners, and a lower section mounted to one of thecorresponding ground engaging shoe members, said sections being formedto telescope together for manual adjustment, and means for locking saidsections in adjusted positions.
 2. The improvement defined by claim 1,in which the ground shoe members extend forwardly and rearwardlysubstantial distances from the center of gravity of the camper body. 3.The improvement as defined by claim 1, and means along the bottom of theground engaging shoe member for increasing friction with the ground. 4.The improvement as defined by claim 1, in which the ground supportmember is in the shape of a longitudinal channel.
 5. The improvement asdefined by claim 3 in which the bottom of the channel has a plurality ofdimples for increasing friction with the ground.
 6. The improvement asdefined in claim 3, in which the bottom of the channel is provided withan anti-slip surface.
 7. The improvement as defined by claim 1, andmeans for releasibly holding the linkage in an elevated position forhighway travel.
 8. The improvement as defined by claim 1, and means foreffecting co-movement of the truck and camper body in forward andrearward directions.
 9. The improvement as defined by claim 1, and meansfor releasibly coupling the camper body to the pick-up truck forco-movement when the camper body is in an elevated position relative tothe truck.
 10. The improvement defined by claim 1, in which the groundengaging shoe members are demountable and attachable in demountedcondition for storage along the sides of the camper body.
 11. Theimprovement defined by claim 1, in which the legs are telescopicallyadjustable.
 12. The improvement as described in claim 1, wherein saidelongated post is formed of tubular sections.
 13. The improvement asdescribed in claim 1, wherein said post has its upper section and saidlower section formed with threaded portions normally threadable togetherintermediate the length of the post.
 14. The improvement as described inclaim 1, wherein each upper post section is secured by a body cornerconforming saddle.
 15. The improvement as described in claim 1, whereinsaid means for locking said sections in adjusted positions comprises athreaded abutment nut mounted at the juncture between said upper andlower sections.
 16. The improvement as described in claim 1, whereinlateral cable means are connected between said lateral bracing means andhaving means thereon for adjusting the tension of said cable means.